Our extensive global communications network and strong strategic partnerships enable us to serve customers in all key commercial centres of Europe, North America and Asia. In Europe, this network links more than 250 towns and cities across 16 countries back into our UK network, and beyond into the Americas and Asia Pacific.

It’s the power, breadth and depth of this network that enables us to meet the communications needs of our top multi-site corporate and government customers with activities in one or more European countries.

We can offer our customers leading-edge global communications via our worldwide virtual private networks. Our award-winning multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) product can be accessed from 60 countries worldwide.

During the year, our global solutions, outsourcing, business transformation and change management businesses have gone from strength to strength. Increasingly, even the largest businesses are looking for companies that will manage their information and communications technology needs for them, leaving them free to focus on their core activities. In the 2003 financial year, we signed solutions and outsourcing contracts worth £3.6 billion in sales order value, in addition to business transformation and change management contracts worth £800 million.

Top of the list is our contract with Unilever to manage and develop its entire global communications infrastructure. Worth around one billion euros over seven years, the majority of which will come from outside the UK, this is one of the largest outsourcing contracts in UK corporate history.

Another first for BT was the contract we signed with the Bavarian state government in Germany - the largest BT has ever signed with a government outside the UK. Under the seven-year contract, we are responsible for the management and development of the Bavarian state’s communications infrastructure.

Other major outsourcing deals were signed with Abbey National, National Australia Group, the NHS Information Authority and Bradford & Bingley, as well as a multi-million pound agreement with Royal Mail to outsource its business and IT services.